1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device including a touch panel, and more specifically, relates to a technology to improve operability when specifying a selection button displayed on a screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, some image forming devices include an image processing device called a digitizer in which an area is specified in original document data and various types of image decorations are applied thereto. The image processing device displays an original document image on a display screen. The image processing device further includes a function to operate a tool corresponding to each of various selection buttons such as zoom-in, zoom-out, move, and area select buttons, and apply decorations to a selected area. Herein, the decorations include specification of a type such as character or photo type and specification of shading.
Such an image processing device often employs means using a touch panel as entry means for selecting an operation button displayed on the screen or specifying a desired point in an image displayed on the screen. The entry operation is performed by directly touching a screen of the touch panel with a user's finger, a touch pen, or the like. The use of the touch panel has an advantage in that a desired point can be directly specified on the screen.
However, the touch panel is operated by a user making a direct entry on the image with his/her finger or the touch pen, and wrong operations could be caused in many cases. For example, when the user performs an operation of touching a desired button with a finger but accidentally touches a different selection button, the display is often changed to a different screen that the user does not intend at all. In such a case, it is necessary to go back to the original screen in which the desired selection button is displayed and carry out the entry operation again.
When touching a position of a desired selection button on the touch panel to specify the desired selection button, sometimes, the same position is touched more than once. At this time, when the selection button displayed at the touched position is changed to a different selection button by the first touch operation, the second touch operation is regarded as specifying the different selection button in the entry operation, thus causing a problem of specifying the selection button which the user does not intend.
Therefore, for example, the Japanese Patent Laid-open publication No. 2003-209719 discloses the following technology. Even when a wrong selection button which is not a selection button to be specified is touched and the display screen is then changed, the specified selection button is displayed on the screen after the change. The user can therefore easily return to the original screen and specify the desired selection button.